Tennessee’s secondary is in for a battle come next week in the Music City Bowl. Sure, the Boilermakers will be without All-American wide receiver David Bell, but this is still a unit that averages over 340 yards through the air each game.
Led by fifth-year senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell, Jeff Brohm’s passing attack will try to take advantage of recently departed Altontae Taylor from the Tennessee secondary, who is sitting out of the Music City Bowl to focus on getting healthy for the Senior Bowl and subsequent NFL Draft.
“They pass the ball a lot. They’re a good team. They’re a well-coached team. They make plays,” junior cornerback Warren Burrell said Tuesday. “For us, we go out there and play our game. We play the way we’re supposed to play. We see things on film, but we practice it. We go out there, trust our technique, trust one another and play for one another. We expect do to what we’re supposed to do.”
Burrell will need to play his best game as a Volunteer. The first-year starter, opposite of Taylor for much of the season, was picked on down the stretch in games by South Alabama and Vanderbilt. With the looming question mark of who might replace Taylor next Thursday, Burrell’s play needs to be consistent.
“For me personally, I tend to be hard on myself. There are a lot of things I feel like I could have improved on. Those are things that I’m going to continue to work on to improve,” the Suwanee, Ga. native said. “It’s just a day-by-day process. You’re not going to be perfect. You’re not going to fix all of those adjustments overnight.
“Each day during practice, meetings and lifts, I do it to the best of my ability. The results will show, eventually, if you keep at it. I’ve been focusing on that.”
The bowl prep is acting as a primer for those looking to pick up the slack in Taylor’s absence. For the first time in four seasons, the Volunteers won’t be able to count on No. 2 on the outside.
So, who could it be?
“Bunch of guys that have repped at it. Have a chance to see multiple guys play there," Josh Heupel said Wednesday. "You know, you’ve seen during the course of the season guys be down and the next guy steps up and has performed really well, so I expect good things from the guys that are out there on the 30th.”
Of course, you have reinforcements in JUCO transfer Desmond Williams who signed in December that will be a part of the plans moving forward. Woodward Academy standout, and son of former NFL All-Pro Rodney Harrison, Christian Harrison will also throw his hat in the ring.
But to conclude this season, the Vols are getting a look at in-house options who will be back for more such as Kamal Hadden, De’Shawn Rucker and even Brandon Turnage, who has been playing more of the STAR position of late. Kenneth George Jr. could also see time in the bowl game, but his eligibility will be exhausted afterwards.
“It’s a competition every day. Nobody is a starter,” Burrell said of the cornerback room. “There’s always opportunity to play, regardless of who you are. It just comes down to consistency, practicing the right way and being the best that you can be every day.
“There’s been a lot of competition lately, but I can’t really say it’s been much more. It’s always been that way. That’s just the way that we practice.”
Purdue averages just 84 yards rushing a contest and will look to throw all over an already-suspect Tennessee secondary without Taylor. But it’s lessons and healthy habits learned from Taylor that is positioning Burrell to take his place.
Maybe Burrell can start his 2022 season next week, as the leader of the Tennessee secondary, with a shutdown performance.
“I was blessed to have a number of people to show me the proper way to go about things – even outside of football. Outside of the game,” Burrell concluded. “There’s a lot of the things that go into it, especially if you want to be a pro. What these guys ahead of me have shown me and what they are doing now, it’s a process.
“Guys like Alontae Taylor. He showed me the ins-and-outs of how to conduct myself. Not just during the game, but during practice, during the meetings – what to look for. Even little things like what to see. There are certain things that go into it that a lot of people, including myself, didn’t realize, to be on that level. I’ve been very blessed and grateful to have those types of people here.”
Heupel sees the growth in the third-year player and believes there's another level to reach come next season.
"Warren is a young player that is only going to continue to get better. Physically for him, the strength and conditioning, the nutrition, everything that you are doing. Understanding that every decision you make takes you closer or further away from your goals, is something that is going to be big for him this offseason," the head coach said. "Being a pro in the meeting room – understanding his spot but all 11 others and how that effects his job, I think is how he continue to elevate his game.
"As he does that, he’s going to gain inches every single day. You look back on it when it’s time to go kickoff next fall, he will have come a long ways.”
In three years, Burrell has appeared in 28 games with 19 starts. Only in 2021 was he considered a full-time starter.
